Red Tape Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, 2025

Summary#

• Bill 38 is an omnibus “red tape” bill. It updates several Alberta laws to simplify rules, move decisions closer to front-line staff, and modernize how government works.

• Some parts take effect later by Proclamation (a formal start date set by Cabinet).

• Key changes:

  • Lets Alberta and B.C. straighten small, wavy sections of their shared border without a province-wide referendum, if boundary experts all agree.
  • Shifts many powers under the Charitable Fund-raising Act from the Minister to a new Director, adds inspectors, and allows clearer standards for fundraising.
  • Narrows which child deaths and injuries the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate must review, sets a one-year deadline to publish, and removes an outside audit committee.
  • Repeals the 2018 Energy Diversification Act.
  • Allows a post-secondary students’ association to merge with a society and continue as the official association; cleans up other school governance rules.
  • Lets landlords and tenants deliver notices by email or similar electronic methods if the other party has given an electronic address.
  • Clarifies that unincorporated unions and employer or occupational associations can face proceedings under the skilled trades law.

What it means for you#

• Tenants and landlords

  • You can send or receive tenancy notices by email (or another electronic method) if the other party provided an electronic address for service and the file can be saved and read later.
  • If you give an email for service, check it regularly. Keep proof of what you sent and when.

• Donors and charities

  • A Director, not the Minister, will decide on registrations, licences, suspensions, and conditions for fundraisers. The Director can appoint inspectors and set or adopt codes of conduct for solicitations.
  • The Minister or Director may share information to help the public decide whether to donate to a specific charity or fundraiser.
  • Charities and fundraising businesses may face clearer conduct rules when asking for donations.

• Families and young people

  • The Child and Youth Advocate must review deaths only of children under 18 who were receiving child intervention services at the time of death. Reviews of former clients and 18–19-year-olds are removed.
  • The Advocate must publish death review reports within one year. A separate Audit Advisory Committee is eliminated.
  • The Advocate may still investigate wider, “systemic” issues tied to serious injuries or deaths linked to designated services, but new limits exclude people 20 or older.
  • Ongoing investigations and reviews at the time the law changes will continue under the new rules.

• Students and campuses

  • Your students’ association may choose to merge with an existing student society and continue as the official association. If that happens, assets, debts, bylaws, and council carry over to the new association.
  • Governing boards can set member pay rates (still subject to general public agency rules). Old, time-limited tuition wording from 2020–2023 is removed.
  • Intellectual property rules are clarified to apply to public post-secondary institutions.

• Skilled trades workers, unions, and employer groups

  • If an unincorporated union or employer/occupational association breaks the skilled trades law, the province can bring a case against the group in the name it uses. Acts of a group’s officials count as acts of the group.

• People near the Alberta–B.C. border

  • Technical straightening of the provincial boundary can proceed without a referendum if all boundary commissioners agree. This targets wavy lines, not major shifts.

• Energy sector participants

  • The Energy Diversification Act is repealed. If you relied on programs created by that Act, check with the responsible ministry about current authorities or replacements.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

• Reduces red tape by moving routine decisions from the Minister to a dedicated Director and by cleaning up outdated provisions.
• Speeds up routine boundary fixes without the cost of a referendum, while keeping expert oversight.
• Sets a clear, one-year deadline for child death reviews and focuses the Advocate’s work on current clients, reducing duplication with police and prosecutors.
• Makes renting easier by allowing electronic service of notices when both sides have provided an email.
• Lets students’ groups streamline by merging with existing societies while keeping continuity of bylaws and leadership.
• Improves enforcement under skilled trades rules by allowing action against unincorporated unions or associations.

Opponents' View#

• Narrowing death reviews (removing reviews of former clients and 18–19-year-olds) could miss risks and lessons, and ending the Audit Advisory Committee may reduce independent oversight and transparency.
• Email service for tenancy notices could disadvantage people with limited internet access or those who miss messages, leading to disputes or missed deadlines.
• Moving powers from an elected Minister to a Director may lessen political accountability for key decisions affecting charities and fundraising businesses.
• Repealing the Energy Diversification Act may reduce clarity or support for value-added energy projects that once relied on it.
• Allowing students’ associations to merge with societies may dilute direct student control or blur accountability, and transfers all debts and liabilities to the new body.
• Even limited boundary changes without a referendum may worry some residents who prefer direct public approval.